Abstract
The development of mouse models that mimic the kinetics of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is critical for the understanding of the pathogenesis of disease and for the design of novel therapeutic strategies. Here, we describe the dynamics of HIV infection in humanized NOD/Shi-scid-IL2rγnull (NOG) mice bearing the human genes for interleukin (IL)-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) (NOG-EXL mice). The kinetics of viral load, as well as the frequencies of T-cells, B-cells, Natural killer cells (NK), monocytes, and dendritic cells in blood and secondary lymphoid organs were evaluated throughout the time of infection. In comparison with a non-transgenic humanized mouse (NSG) strain, lymphoid and myeloid populations were more efficiently engrafted in humanized NOG-EXL mice, both in peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues. In addition, HIV actively replicated in humanized NOG-EXL mice, and infection induced a decrease in the percentage of CD4+ T-cells, inversion of the CD4:CD8 ratio, and changes in some cell populations, such as monocytes and dendritic cells, that recapitulated those found in human natural infection. Thus, the humanized IL-3/GM-CSF-transgenic NOG mouse model is suitable for the study of the dynamics of HIV infection and provides a tool for basic and preclinical studies.
Highlights
An important limitation for the study of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection pathogenesis is the species-specificity of this virus [1]
Transgenic mice expressing the human cytokines, interleukin (IL)-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), support the heightened engraftment of myeloid cells [5], which could be useful for the study of the role of these subsets in the pathogenesis or resistance to HIV infection
Our results indicate that this model recapitulates some features of HIV infection, such as the increase in the viral load, inversion of the CD4:CD8 ratio, and changes in some lymphoid and myeloid populations in peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues, and support its usefulness for basic and preclinical studies
Summary
An important limitation for the study of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection pathogenesis is the species-specificity of this virus [1]. Mice cannot support HIV infection, mouse humanization via transplantation of CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into immunodeficient strains offers the possibility to study different human diseases after reconstitution of cell populations [4]. Immunodeficient mouse models allow the creation of knock-out or transgenic strains for the study of specific host features and their impact on disease dynamics. Transgenic mice expressing the human cytokines, interleukin (IL)-3 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), support the heightened engraftment of myeloid cells [5], which could be useful for the study of the role of these subsets in the pathogenesis or resistance to HIV infection.
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